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He got inside the car and looked up at me. “I’m sorry for everything, Ava. I hope one day you can forgive me.”
ChapterNine
AVA
Icame home to find Nico sitting in my living room. Like this day didn't already suck enough.
"Last time I checked, you don't live here.” I set my purse on the table. "Why are you here, Nico?"
He pushed up from the couch, closing the distance between us. "To talk." Nico shoved his fingers through his blond hair, those pretty blue eyes aimed at me. "I need to apologize for the dinner. And for not telling you about the engagement. I'm sorry for a lot of things."
I followed the scent of garlic and spices into the kitchen. On the marble island, there was a silver room service platter. I lifted the lid and breathed in the delicious smell of a five-layer lasagna with a side of garlic bread.
"It's for you.” Nico moved beside me. "Dante made you work all day. You must be starving."
I couldn't hide the smile tugging at my mouth. "Thank you." I sat on the stool and dug into the steaming hot food, speaking between bites. "But this changes nothing between us."
Nico sat on the stool beside me and watched me eat, tapping his fingers on the counter. "Ava, I'm sorry. When I took you to dinner, I wasn't engaged. I was hoping my dad wouldn't make me marry Vittoria. It wasn't a done deal."
"And now it is.”
"I don't like her.” Nico swiveled the chair to face me. “I’m sure as fuck not going to sleep with her. It will be a marriage on paper only. You can still be in my life. This doesn't have to be the end."
"Yes, it does. I'm not having sex with a married man. I don't want to be the woman you sneak off to see when your wife isn't around. That's not what I want." I chewed my food and set the fork on the plate. "Do you know what makes this situation even more fucked up?"
He shrugged. "No, what?"
"I like you, Nico." I shook my head. "At least I did before the announcement. Now I can't even stand to be in the same room as you." Biting back the tears pricking my eyes, I lowered my head. "You betrayed me. I was stupid to think we could have a future."
He put his hand over mine on the counter. "We still can."
I slid my hand off the table and put it on my lap. "No, we can't. Whatever was happening between us is over. It has to be the end."
"I like you, too, Ava." He traced his bottom lip with the pad of his thumb as his eyes met mine. "But I also think it's unfair that you're holding me to a higher standard when you're fucking my bothers. I never said anything about that. And to be honest, I don't care."
"Not like you have a say in who I fuck."
He gripped my knee. "Need I remind you that you're not here by choice? You are still our captive. And we have treated you like a queen. So don't give me that fucking attitude."
I slid off the chair, walked out of the kitchen, and headed toward the spiral staircase. Before I could put my foot on the first stair, Nico wrapped his arms around me from behind. He held me against his hard, muscular chest.
"You belong to the Boardwalk Kings," he breathed in my ear. "Which means you're mine, too."
"Nico," I whispered, hating myself for loving the feeling of him pressed against me. “Let me go. Please."
We stayed that way for a solid minute before he released me from his grip, stepping back from me. "I'll give you space,passerotta. But you're mine. And you're done when I say."
Breathing harder than usual, I closed my eyes and waited until I heard him leave the living room.
* * *
Iwanted revenge. So I knocked on the twin’s penthouse door. Angelo didn’t have to leave for the club for another hour.
The door flung open after the second bang.
Angelo stood in the entryway, dressed in black track pants, shirtless. “Hey, beautiful.” He leaned against the doorframe, his eyes drifting up and down my body. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
I wore a black silk robe with nothing beneath it. So I tugged on the belt holding it closed and gave him a good look at my naked body. “I want to pay Nico back for not telling me about his engagement. And I need your help.”
